Over $11.6 Million Awarded to Municipalities for Climate Smart Communities Projects

Grants Help Support New York State’s Climate Goals and Requirements through Greenhouse Gas Reductions, Climate Change Adaptation, and Community Resilience

New York State Department of Environmental Conservation’s (DEC) Climate Smart Communities Grant program is awarding over $11.6 million to 25 municipalities across the State for projects that will help reduce greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to the ongoing impacts of climate change.

Established in 2016, the Climate Smart Communities Grant Program is a competitive 50/50 matching grant program for municipalities to implement projects focused on climate change adaptation and greenhouse gas mitigation. Project types include: 

• Reducing vehicle miles traveled

• Reducing food waste

• Reducing hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) emissions from refrigeration and other cooling equipment

• Increasing natural resilience through restoration or preservation of wetlands and floodplains

• Reducing future flood risk, including by relocating or retrofitting critical infrastructure

• Preparing for extreme weather events       

Project types also include certain planning and assessment projects that are part of a strategy to achieve Climate Smart Communities certification.

Of the total grant funds awarded this round, 36% was awarded to implementation projects located in Disadvantaged Communities, and 66% was awarded to certification projects by municipalities that contain a Disadvantaged Community, as identified by the Climate Justice Working Group’s draft criteria.

Climate Smart Communities grants help local governments take climate action within their own communities and assist New York State in achieving the directives of its Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act.

See a full list of all the 2022 Climate Smart Communities Grant awards and project descriptions (PDF).

Read the full press release. 

More information about the Climate Smart Communities Grant Program is available on the DEC website.

Climate Smart Communities

These grants are part of a larger program to support community engagement in local climate action. There are currently 369 registered Climate Smart Communities, representing more than 9.4 million New Yorkers. To be designated a registered community, municipalities make a commitment to act on climate change by passing a formal resolution that includes a 10-point pledge. Since 2014, more than 100 municipalities completed the rigorous review process to be designated as certified Climate Smart Communities. These certified communities have gone beyond the pledge to complete and document a suite of actions that mitigate and adapt to climate change at the local level.

Climate Smart Communities Coordinators are available to provide free support services to municipalities throughout New York State. Coordinators assist and support local governments in taking action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to climate change through outreach, planning, education, and capacity building.

More information about the Climate Smart Communities program is available at: https://climatesmart.ny.gov/

Photo: Assistance from the Climate Smart Communities (CSC) Grant Program makes climate change adaptation and greenhouse gas mitigation projects more cost-effective for communities. With assistance from a CSC grant received in 2017, the town of Niagara completed a Cayuga Creek restoration project to address frequent flooding events and increase resilience to future extreme weather conditions (Photo credit: Matthew Bourke).